Matt Duffy, promoted from Double-A Richmond, singles home a run in the seventh.

Photo: Mike Stobe, Getty Images

Matt Duffy, promoted from Double-A Richmond, singles home a run in...

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Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants pumps his fist after pitching a complete game victory against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 1, 2014 in New York City. Giants defeated the Mets 5-1.

Photo: Mike Stobe, Getty Images

Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants pumps his fist after...

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Ryan Vogelsong celebrates with catcher Busty Posey after pitching his first career nine-inning complete game.

Photo: Mike Stobe, Getty Images

Ryan Vogelsong celebrates with catcher Busty Posey after pitching...

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Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on August 1, 2014 in New York City.

Photo: Mike Stobe, Getty Images

Ryan Vogelsong of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first...

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San Francisco Giants' Hunter Pence, Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco and Matt Duffy, from right, celebrate after a baseball game against the New York Mets on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in New York. The Giants won 5-1.

Someday, when Matt Duffy admires the framed box score from his major-league debut, his gaze will shift from his hit and RBI to the bottom of the page and he will say, "Really, I played in a game that was over in 2 hours, 6 minutes?"

A rat-a-tat 5-1 victory against the Mets on Friday night ended one of the more fascinating, stunning and ultimately satisfying days for the Giants in a whacked-out 2014 season.

They started by promoting two players from Double-A Richmond, Va., an extreme rarity in this organization. Duffy, 23, started at second base and singled to left in the seventh inning for his first hit and RBI.

Watching from the bench was Jarrett Parker, a 25-year-old outfielder who joined Duffy from Richmond. Together they replaced Dan Uggla and Tyler Colvin, both designated for assignment, in a move partly designed to infuse some youth and energy into a team that looked old and lethargic on a 1-5 homestand.

Yet it was the third-oldest active Giant, Ryan Vogelsong, who did the most to spark the team in the first of 10 straight road games.

The 37-year-old pitched a two-hitter for his first nine-inning complete game in 133 career starts. In fact, he had not thrown a single ninth-inning pitch in a major-league start before Friday. When he got the final out on a comebacker, he celebrated with an almost imperceptible fist pump.

"I was pretty tired," Vogelsong said. "That was all the energy I had. What else did you want me to do, a Tiger first pump?"

Catcher Buster Posey, noting that Vogelsong scored from first on Hunter Pence's two-run triple in the seventh inning, said, "As old as he is, that took a lot out of him."

Vogelsong did not allow a hit until Juan Lagares' leadoff single in the sixth and had a shutout until Lucas Duda homered to start the eighth.

The Giants hit two triples in a three-run seventh, including Brandon Crawford's to start the rally. Duffy followed Pence's triple with a scoring single in front of left fielder Chris Young. After the game, Duffy saw his parents in the tunnel and then told reporters, "I still can't believe I'm here."

"Sometimes you've got to win and develop at the same time," Sabean said, "and that's what we're trying to do."

Sabean insisted the four roster moves did not signal any resignation about the Giants' chances of winning the National League West this year.

"Just look at where we are in the standings," Sabean said. "You don't point to 2015 when you are where we are in the standings. We were unable to bring in help from outside to this point. The alternative is to turn inside the organization."

Bochy admitted the Giants needed a change, saying, "We got a little stale out there. Hopefully these guys can help out."

Duffy and Parker were told Thursday morning not to board the bus for a western Pennsylvania road trip. They thought they might be part of a trade. But once the deadline passed they received phone calls telling them to get to New York and check into the Giants' luxury Manhattan hotel.

"It's not the Super 8 in Altoona," Parker said.

The Giants - again - bypassed 2010 first-round draft pick Gary Brown to promote Parker, who was taken in the next round. He has a left-handed power bat but has struck out 583 times in 2,004 minor-league plate appearances. Bochy expects the Virginia alum to help off the bench.

Parker was hitting .275 with 12 home runs for the Flying Squirrels.

Duffy is expected to play a larger role, now and perhaps beyond. He will platoon with Joe Panik at second base and might play some short and third.

The right-handed hitter had an eye-popping .332 average and .842 OPS in a tough league for hitters after posting similar numbers last year at two Class A levels.

Sabean said Duffy has a "base-hit bat," and a rival evaluator agreed, saying, "Competitive hitter, gaps type, reliable infielder. Will be a steady guy."